Does operating your solution require the institution to operate a physical or virtual appliance in their own environment or to provide inbound firewall exceptions to allow your employees to remotely administer systems in the institution's environment?

This question is asking whether your solution requires the institution to: 1. Install and maintain any physical hardware or virtual appliances within their network environment, or 2. Configure their firewalls to allow your employees to remotely access their systems for administration purposes. This is being asked in a security assessment because both scenarios introduce potential security risks: - Physical or virtual appliances that must be installed in the institution's environment create additional attack surfaces that the institution must secure and maintain. These appliances may require patching, updates, and ongoing security management. - Inbound firewall exceptions create deliberate openings in the institution's network perimeter that could potentially be exploited if not properly secured. Remote administration access is particularly sensitive as it often requires elevated privileges. The question helps the institution understand what additional security measures they might need to implement if they adopt your solution, and what potential risks they need to consider in their overall security posture. When answering this question, be clear and specific about any requirements your solution has. If your solution is entirely cloud-based with no on-premises components, make that clear. If there are on-premises components or remote access requirements, explain what they are, why they're necessary, and what security controls are in place to mitigate risks.